3 young men killed in late night shooting have been identified

Victims found in street in Govans neighborhood

Three young men were killed in a shooting late Thursday night in north Baltimore. City police said the shooting occurred around 10:40 p.m. Officers were patrolling the area of York Road and Willow Avenue in the Govans neighborhood when they heard gunshots. Police canvassed the area and found the three victims -- two 19-year-olds and a 17-year-old -- suffering from gunshot wounds in the intersection of Willow and Alhambra avenues. Handguns were recovered from two of the victims. Homicide detectives are inves

City police said the shooting was reported around 10:40 p.m. Officers were patrolling the area of York Road and Willow Avenue in the Govans neighborhood when they heard gunshots.

"They ran around to the area where these gunshots came from and found two males deceased from gunshot wounds and found another man was still alive," Baltimore police spokesman T.J. Smith said.

Police canvassed the area and found the three victims suffering from gunshot wounds in the intersection of Willow and Alhambra avenues.

Handguns were recovered from two of the victims. Homicide detectives are investigating the incident.

"That's obviously disturbing to us, not to victimize them again, but just to show you the flow of violent crime that's going on," Smith said.

Ernestine Epps and other neighbors are mourning the young lives lost.

"We heard shots last night, like eight shots, and we heard the helicopters flying," Epps said. "It's just too much, our young people getting killed like that."

Epps said she saw the victims in the park just before someone fired at them on the street.

"I had just left the park before it happened within a half-hour and we heard the shots," Epps said.

Epps said the grandmother of one of the victims previously lost her two sons to violence.

Investigators aren't sure what led to the killings or if someone targeted the victims.

Police said they are trying to reduce the surge in violent crime with different strategies each day. The latest killings bring Baltimore's homicide rate for 2015 to 205.

"It's very disappointing to see additional homicides. We know what the number is, that's the number that we pay attention to every minute of the day, and we're trying to stop that number right where it is," Smith said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 866-7LOCKUP.